Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I found the video below indirectly - while reading a Chess.com review for a new book called "Play Like a Girl!"- a fragment of which I reproduce here, thus:

'Jennifer Shahade refrains from lecturing men about what they should and should not do. Instead, she offers an interesting and unique mix of glamour, intellect, toughness and sweetness that’s extremely charming and, truth be told, commercial. But for me, it is this sensible and realistic perspective that makes "Play Like a Girl!" such a nice book to peruse.'

Jennifer Shahade is a Philadelphia based writer and gamesplayer. She is a two-time American Women’s Chess Champion (2002, 2004). In the "Hulachess" video below she is playing with the Red pieces against choreographer and dancer Gabrielle Revlock playing with the White pieces. Apparently (!) "Hulachess explores themes of multitasking, the feminine, circular side of chess and the surprising parallels between chess and hooping".

Jennifer goes into the details of how and why the video was made in her post here. Here is a brief summary of what she says about the actual game as played in the video:

"The moves were based on a game that I analyzed for Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Chess (to be reviewed in the August Chess Life, ~ed.), from the 1924 Olympiad in Paris. Duchamp lost that game against the Romanian master Davidescu, partly because he missed a line leading to perpetual check."

So here are the moves of the game for you to see if you can spot the drawing line - maybe you can see it in the video! If you can't, well - you'll just have to buy the book!

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Jennifer is certainly one of the best representatives of the Royal Game, as can be seen from this brief biography:

"In her coaching career, Jennifer Shahade has made a point of focusing her efforts on girls and inner-city youth. From 1998-2005, she worked with Chess-In-The-Schools, a New York City non-profit organization that provides chess instruction to inner city youth. From 2003-4, she taught a Girls’ Academy through Chess-in-the-Schools, and started her own Girls’ Academy in New York in 2007."

She has co-founded (along with Jean Hoffman) the "9 Queens", a nonprofit educational organization founded in 2007 dedicated to extending the benefits of chess to those most in need of its benefits, especially girls and at-risk youth. So, yes, as well as the game itself, she is also involved in empowering women through the medium of chess.

About this blog

Chess contains more than enough complexity to merit serious philosophic consideration. It is a world in itself, mirroring so many aspects of our existence. The miracle is that all of this can be achieved inside an 8 by 8 array.

I am not a strong enough player to provide you with any great analytical insights, but I have played over a number of years and, hopefully, my love of the game will be on show in this blog.

The photograph at the top is of my brother (please see the post entitled "My Big Brother, David") enjoying his games against two friends in his local pub - which is how I like to remember him, now he has gone.